Supporters and friends of fundraiser Charlie Bain gather at Institute of Medical Sciences to celebrate success.
In March, 50 guests and staff gathered at the Institute of Medical Sciences on the University's Foresterhill campus to celebrate dedicated dementia research donor Charlie Bain's fundraising successes.
The event provided the opportunity to thank Charlie's supporters for their donations as well as recognise the vital part they played in his successes.
Charlie was motivated to start raising funds for dementia research after both his father and father-in-law died from Alzheimer's disease within weeks of each other. Over a number of years he has organised large-scale fundraising events and has managed to involve well-known celebrities such as magician Paul Daniels, ventriloquist Paul Zerdin and dancers Kristina Rihanoff and Robin Windsor from Strictly Come Dancing.
The thank you event was a great success and very positively received by the guests who also enjoyed music from a student jazz band.
Over the years, energy company Apache North Sea has been a fantastic supporter of Charlie's fundraisers and at the thank you event made the surprise announcement of another hugely generous £45,000 donation from their Corporate Outreach Programme for the University's dementia research. It was also announced that Charlie's fundraising successes have been congratulated in the Scottish Parliament.
The University of Aberdeen is extremely grateful to Charlie and his supporters. The equipment we have been able to buy, thanks to this support, is making an extraordinary difference to our dementia research.
Fundraising income for dementia research is channelled through the University of Aberdeen Development Trust which is an independent registered charity. The Trust raises essential funds to support much of the University’s activities such as vital medical research as well as supporting students through the provision of scholarships, bursaries and facilities. Funding from alumni, individuals, companies, organisations and the community is essential for the development of the medical research undertaken by our dementia researchers and many other activities.